Germany’s first hybrid quantum computer opens with IQM
Germany’s first hybrid quantum computer has been integrated into a supercomputer, SuperMUC-NG at the Leibnitz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ).
The €40m hybrid Q-Exa system has a 20 qubit machine from IQM Quantum Computers coupled to a supercomputer with 311,040 Xeon Skylake processor cores and a main memory of 719 TB. Test runs were successful and show that both technologies work together.
The LRZ will soon open the system for researcher to boost Germany’s position as a technology hotspot for development work on future technology within the Munich Quantum Valley.
The development consortium, which includes Eviden and HQS Quantum Simulation, has been working with LRZ since 2022. Rather than a laboratory set up, Q-Exa is located for the first time in direct proximity to other high-performance computing systems at the LRZ and can soon be used by researchers via remote access for experiments and to develop algorithms or scientific codes.
The aim of the project was to connect quantum processing units (QPU) based on superconducting circuits to a supercomputer and to develop interfaces and control tools for this purpose.
The 26.9 PetaFlop/s supercomputer uses the Intel OmniPath network 100 Gbit/s technology connecting to 64 Nvidia V100 GPU cores. The system is currently being upgraded with the latest Intel Sapphire Rapids CPU cores.
In addition to the hybrid Q-Exa system, specialists at the LRZ and partner institutions of the Munich Quantum Valley also developed the prototype of the Munich Quantum Software Stack (MQSS). This integrates quantum systems into the workflows of supercomputers and is supplemented by other quantum technologies. In addition to the hardware, this program package will soon be available to researchers as an open-source version.
“The quantum computing mission is flying at a high pace in Bavaria: the world’s first full integration of a quantum computer into a conventional supercomputer is an international breakthrough and strengthens Bavaria’s position as a global hotspot for one of the defining technologies of the 21st century,” said Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts
“The development of the Q-Exa computer is an outstanding success for the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, IQM, and its partners, as well as our research and technology cooperation Munich Quantum Valley, which has received 300 million euros from the Hightech Agenda Bayern – and yet it is only the beginning: the next milestone will be the opening of the Q-Exa system at the LRZ in a pilot operation for researchers. They will then be able to test and further develop their own application ideas.”
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“Q-Exa is the first milestone for the integration of quantum computers into high-performance computing. We are very proud of this joint achievement of the Q-Exa consortium, and we hope to be able to further optimise the next generation of our processors with these partners and thus enrich supercomputing and science,” said Dr. Jan Goetz, Co-CEO and Co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers.
“We are currently building the future of computing. Q-Exa is a key project for our activities at the LRZ Quantum Integration Center, QIC, and demonstrates the success of co-design. Together with our partners, we have managed to integrate the first quantum computer into our supercomputers in a short timeframe and make it ready for use in science – we are very excited to see how the hybrid system proves itself in everyday work and how we can use it to further develop the future technology of quantum computing,” said Prof. Dieter Kranzlmüller, Chairman of the Board of Directors at LRZ.
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